[VIDEO]: Would ObamaCare Kill Medical Innovation?

Back in June, a few of my (mmm mmm mmm) young Republican colleagues took a day trip up to Albany, and when we weren’t reminiscing aboot drunken escapades and mistakes we knew we were making, talk turned to politics and specifically health care reform. One of my friends was bothered that no one was talking aboot how the Democrat plans was going to destroy medical innovation. This was back in June. They still aren’t.

You hear a lot of talk aboot how insurance companies are evil and the medical industry is evil. Liberals have invested a lot of time manipulating and brainwashing people into thinking that anyone who makes more money than you is evil and corrupt, and you can’t possibly survive on your own without their help. If you disagree with them or offer a different viewpoint? You’ve been bought off by the insurance industry and/or have been brainwashed yourself by conservative media.

But what aboot the libertarian media like Reason Magazine? Yes, the same Reason that endorsed President Hopeandchange for being what they viewed as the lesser of two evils. I wonder if they’ve been bought off by place special interest group here…

Many regard the profit motive as cruel, but it actually produces compassionate results. After all, America has generated vastly more medical innovations than other nations. Included in the long list is the innovation that saved the life of Dave Christensen, construction supervisor, husband, and father. After being diagnosed with cancer, Christensen was lucky enough to be given a then-experimental drug that probably wouldn’t have been developed or brought to market in any other country in the world.

If America follows the lead of the rest of the world and clamps down on profits in health care, who will make tomorrow’s wonder drugs?

1) Insurance company’s and the coverage they provide do not have any influence in medical innovations made by pharmaceutical companies. I am not sure how that link was made.

2) Nothing regarding health care reform ever spoke about cutting into pharmaceutical company profits, nor their R&D budgets. BTW – R&D funding does not and never will come from “profits”. Not in any industry anywhere ever. R&D it is a separate cost of operations for these companies anyway. You understand business… I know that you know this.

3) Since when do “liberals” accuse the “dissenters” as being brainwashed by the media? Isn’t it the complete opposite of that? Aren’t the righty zealots like Rush and Glenn and Nancy Grace and Coulter best known for that? I have never challenged anyone as to being brainwashed by media. And who ever said those with money are evil? Your blog is less “here are the facts” and has become “Glen Beck shaking his fist at these damn liberals”

Your points are not direct and properly referenced anymore. Now they sound like paranoid attacks. It sounds more like randomly unreferenced statements that you make up to validate an already weak point. Stop with inaccurately paraphrasing what liberals say and make your point.

“Those with money are evil” is an asinine and offensive and grossly inaccurate statement.

4) Now this last one is a doozy. Rather than scream and yell that the insurance companies are victims and that the liberal agenda is to turn America into a fascist society – I want you to THINK.

Seriously just take 4 or 5 deep breaths and think…

If we as a nation institute a reform to health care, which is to have a single-payer option that is identically parallel to the CURRENT Medicare system, only with broader eligibility than just for seniors, how will that stop insurance companies from business as usual?

It doesn’t… nor does it limit a separate industry to continue working towards medical advancements. Once again, there is no logical link to that concern.

Does America lead the world in medical innovations?
We probably do, but there is plenty of argument against it. See,as long as there is money to be made in that field, in all likely hood we will continue to try and lead the world in this field for the foreseeable future. But most of these drug companies, from Pfizer to Eli Lilly are multi-national now. They no longer care where the medical advancement comes from, whether it be US, Japan, or Europe. As long asthey can sell it globally, they do. Each of the major drug company websites brags about how they have research facilities globally. So we do not lead anything anymore.

Regarding your concerns as to how a health care reform will slow down medical advancements, that is preposterous. I am pretty sure Pfizer will not stop R&D because MORE Americans have medical insurance. Probably just the opposite when you think about it. More insured Americans means more people able to get the drugs they need, and therefore more money for pharmaceutical companies.

Now – think about this: Do Americans spend more money per capita on medical care than any other industrialized country?
Yes we do – much more in fact.
Yet we are no better off statistically (easily enough referenced if you want, including the NY Times aticle I sent). In areas such as life expectancy, infant mortality rate, obesity, surgical survival rates, and so forth, we are no better than middle of the road when compared to other industrialized countries. In many cases, we are ranked poorly. So what have we gotten for the added expense and spending?
Nothing. We spend more and get the same quality of life.

Is a public option bad for America?
Let me first review a few of the public options in other areas which do not seem to be bad for us, or anything that the people have protested against:
– schools and universities – and still there are private options available. I do not see enrollment for private schools dropping because public schools are available.
– the fire dept – this used to be privatized as well.
– the police department – once again, you used to have to pay for their services.
– bi-weekly trash removal, even in terms of basic recycling – There is still a town dump. They still have people bring them trash.
– use of public parks, beaches and the like.

You see where I am going with this. No one has anything concrete to go on in the dispute of a public option. Half of the services you use every day (as a society) are publicly funded despite private alternatives being available. This should be no different. Many Americans needs this coverage, and we are the only industrialized country that does not offer it. We need to catch up to the rest of the world.